After denying xmlrpc\.php no X or Pro sites load

[cmwic]

Hello,

Because of some evil resource usage on my shared hosting server, I had to deny xmlrpc.php in the root directory’s .htaccess file. Here’s the code I was given by the ISP.

<FilesMatch “^(xmlrpc.php)”>
Order Deny,Allow
Deny from all

Since doing that, none of my X or Pro sites load. The page title changes to the correct one, but I see no content. wp-admin for each site gives me this error message:

    mooi.la is currently unable to handle this request.
    HTTP ERROR 500

If I re-allow xmlrpc the server immediately wigs out.

Do I need to have xmlrpc for X and Pro to work, and if so, do you have any thoughts on what’s chewing up all the resources?

I don’t have the latest versions of Pro or X on there, and I can’t get to the admin page to install them.

I have several scratch sites that are being affected. Here’s one so you can see what it’s doing.

    http://mooi.la/wp501

Thanks for your help.

/ clif

[ruenel]

Hello Clif,

Thanks for writing in! Maybe your server were infected with a malware or something which is why the server activity spikes when xmlrpc is enabled. Please be advised that this is one of the core WordPress function that needs to be enabled so that WordPress will function correctly. I think you will need to disable X/Pro theme and use the default WordPress to be able to test that this issue is server related and not theme related.

Please re enable xmlrpc and then do a site check instead:
https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/

[cmwic]

Thanks so much for the quick response.

I have other sites running on the same server, including http://mooi.la which uses an older Wordpress theme. After switching out a couple of plugins all of the non-X/Pro sites work post the .htaccess mod, and a sitecheck of them came up clear, it’s just the Themeco ones I’m having issues with.

Per your suggestion, I removed the xmlrpc comments and I’m still having the same problem.

Any thoughts?

[friech]

Hi There,

I have tested your .htaccess code on one of my dev site (Pro 2.4.5) and it did not cause me the HTTP ERROR 500 so more likely there is another variable that plays here. Please do the following:

• Ensure that you are fully up to date. WordPress, Theme, and Cornerstone (Version Compatibility)

• Clear all the site caches (plugin, server-side, CDN, and browser’s cache) so that the code from the latest release is always in use. This will help you to avoid any potential errors. Please deactivate this caching features while we tackle this issue.

• Test for a plugin conflict. You can do this by deactivating all third party plugins, and seeing if the problem remains. If it’s fixed, you’ll know a plugin caused the problem, and you can narrow down which one by reactivating them one at a time.

• Remove custom Javascript and custom templates (if any).

• Contact your hosting provider to increase your allocated memory limit or do it yourself by adding this code in your wp-config.php file.

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M' );
define( 'WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M' );

You can add it before the line:

/* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

Increasing PHP Memory Limit

Let us know how it goes,
Cheers!

[cmwic]

Again, thanks for the quick response.

Unfortunately, I can’t do most of the things you suggest because I can’t access /wp-admin. I can up the memory through an ftp client, but can’t do anything with plugins or versions.

It’s unlikely that the 6 or 7 instances of X and Pro sites would all have failed at the same time. One of them is a completely clean, brand new instance of Pro that I use to copy page templates. That one has no third-party plugins nor modifications. It’s a clean install with just a few of the templates that you provide.

Can you tell me if xlmrpc is required for X and Pro to work? That seems to be a question worth knowing the answer to as I try to fix this issue.

Thanks for your help.

/ clif

[rad]

Hi @cmwic,

May I know how you added these

Order Deny,Allow
Deny from all

Perhaps it doesn’t just block the file, but the entire folder if it is not placed properly in htaccess.

It should be like this

<Files xmlrpc.php>
order deny,allow
deny from all
</Files>

or this on child theme’s functions.php

add_filter('xmlrpc_enabled', '__return_false');

Thanks!

[cmwic]

Hey Rad,

Thanks so much.
It’s looking like a server-side issue now though.
I lost the non-Themeco sites this morning, so I’m pretty sure it’s a memory issue.
Appreciate the help.

cheers …

[rad]

You’re welcome! Yes, with the entire site being inaccessible, then it’s more likely host related. And XMLRPC feature isn’t related to the theme. Thanks!